''Caponia'', also called eight-eyed orange lungless spiders, is an Afrotropical

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

araneomorph The Araneomorphae (also called the Labidognatha) are an infraorder of spiders. They are distinguishable by chelicerae (fangs) that point diagonally forward and cross in a pinching action, in contrast to the Mygalomorphae (tarantulas and their cl ...

spiders in the family

Caponiidae Caponiidae is a family of ecribellate haplogyne spiders that are unusual in a number of ways. They differ from other spiders in lacking book lungs and having the posterior median spinnerets anteriorly displaced to form a transverse row with the a ...

, first described by

Eugène Simon Eugène Louis Simon (; 30 April 1848 – 17 November 1924) was a French naturalist who worked particularly on insects and spiders, but also on birds and plants. He is by far the most prolific spider taxonomist in history, describing over 4, ...

in 1887. As the common name implies, these spiders have a tightly arranged set of eight eyes, as opposed to the related two-eyed genus ''

Diploglena ''Diploglena'' is a genus of African araneomorph spiders in the family Caponiidae, first described by William Frederick Purcell William Frederick Purcell (18 September 1866 - 3 October 1919) was an English-born South African arachnologist an ...

'', and breathe using two pairs of tracheae rather than book lungs. They are agile, nocturnal hunters, that hide by day in a variety of silk-lined retreats.

Species

it contains ten species: *'' Caponia braunsi''

Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest Eng ...

, 1904 – South Africa *'' Caponia capensis'' Purcell, 1904 – South Africa, Mozambique *'' Caponia chelifera'' Lessert, 1936 – Mozambique *'' Caponia forficifera'' Purcell, 1904 – South Africa *'' Caponia hastifera'' Purcell, 1904 – South Africa, Mozambique *'' Caponia karrooica'' Purcell, 1904 – South Africa *'' Caponia natalensis'' (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1874) ( type) – Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa *'' Caponia secunda'' Pocock, 1900 – South Africa *'' Caponia simoni'' Purcell, 1904 – South Africa *'' Caponia spiralifera'' Purcell, 1904 – South Africa

References

Araneomorphae genera Caponiidae Spiders of Africa Taxa named by Eugène Simon {{Caponiidae-stub